I have a Panasonic PV-V4521 VCR that recently caused a tape to pucker
along the bottom edge, even though the capstan washer hadn't ridden up
the shaft and the tape didn't seem to ride too low in the groove around
the stationary drum (bright reflection when flashlight shined on it).
I cleaned the tape path by hand but didn't see much stuff come off (had
been cleaned by hand a month ago). The tape recorded when the
puckering occurred caused my TV to show a blue screen when played at
normal speed but the sound was normal (I think it wasn't hi-fi sound).
When I played the tape at fast speed, the picture was partially
folded-over. Does that sound like way too much back tension?

I notice that the brake on the take-up reel has white grease on it. Is
that normal? This grease is opaque white, unlike the transparent green
grease found elsewhere in the mechanism.

Also I'm probably going to buy one more VCR before switching to
recordable DVDs. The only Japanese brands I see that don't seem to be
made by Funai are Sanyo and Panasonic. Which of those should be more
reliable?